Dismay as 6ft ‘dwarf ’ actor sinks to his knees
‘Disgust’ of theatregoer amid claims that people with dwarfism are being frozen out to save costs
A ROW has broken out over dwarf actors after a production of Shrek the Musical hired a 6ft man to play a “vertically challenged” character on his knees.
Samuel Holmes, the actor who plays Lord Farquaad in the musical adaptation of the Hollywood films, shuffles around the stage in his costume to portray the height difference.
When the production went on stage in Plymouth, a theatregoer complained that people with dwarfism were being frozen out of stage shows.
Bill Nicholson, a retired police officer, said he felt “disgusted” at the casting.
Having conducted his own research, Mr Nicholson, 75, claimed taller men and women were more likely to be cast in productions over dwarfs because they were cheaper to employ. As a result he said smaller people were being “frozen out”.
Holmes, who has appeared in numerous plays including Mrs Henderson Presents and Dick Whittington, said being on his knees for the whole time was one of the biggest challenges of his career.
“It’s hard work because physically I had never done that before – I have done about 28 years of theatre work and have always done it on my feet,” he said.
The actor said that when the cast do double-show weekends, performing on his knees “can get a little arduous because it is tiring”.
“When I am stood singing I don’t have to think about it because I am so used to it. But being 4ft 2 in and having to do it is a little more difficult.”
He added that he had “a sore neck because I am constantly looking up at people”.
Mr Nicholson’s comments come after a number of venues pulled out of hosting a dwarf wrestling show in September after the Restricted Growth Association compared it to a “freak show”.
At the time, a spokesman for Center Stage Entertainment, which organised The Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling show, said: “The wrestlers doing the tour feel this is discrimination
and that any person has the right to choose their own career path and should not be told what they can and cannot do.”
In 2015, Leicester’s De Montfort Hall came under fire after a pantomime was renamed Snow White and her Seven Friends while child actors were used to make the audience feel “comfortable”.
Another production, which will be performed by an amateur dramatics group in the West Midlands later this year, the title has been changed to Snow White and her Little Friends. The production company, A Comedy Theatre Group, said the name change was not to be politically correct but due to the greater cost of hiring dwarfs.
In a letter to the Plymouth Herald, Mr Nicholson wrote that he was “appalled to see that yet again an ablebodied and tall actor is to play the part of a dwarf in the hit musical Shrek”.
“Gradually dwarfs are being frozen out of stage productions in favour of taller actors on a lower salary,” he said.
The Theatre Royal in Plymouth said that it does not have any control over casting, and that it embraces working with theatre companies which aim to break down barriers of disability and champions diversity.